Recognition of ARF and early beginning of the CVVHDF are extremely important. The sooner the ARF after surgery is recognized and CVVHDF is performed, the higher the likelihood of the reduction of the hospital mortality.

Gastrointestinal complications, although of low incidence, carry a significantly high mortality, and the clinician must be alert to institute early appropriate treatment.

Preserving pleural integrity has beneficial effects on the respiratory functions and postoperative pain after coronary revascularization. The preservation of pleural integrity results in better respiratory function, decreased hospital stay and cost, and as a consequence, a better surgical outcome.

Aortic wrapping with or without aortoplasty has a beneficial effect not only in dilated ascending aorta but also in all nondilated BAV patients with normal-sized aortic diameter. Ascending aorta wrapping in BAV patients preserves the endothelial lining and prevents further dilatation, aneurysm formation, and dissection.

Venous repair has a high patency rate at the femoral and popliteal levels, but the patency rate for infrapopliteal venous repair is extremely poor because of low flow velocities. Therefore, we conclude that repair of infrapopliteal venous injuries is unnecessary.

Polycythemia vera is a myeloproliferative disorder associated with the thromboembolic events. Normalization of the hematocrit and elevated platelet counts is obligatory to reduce the thrombotic risk of patients with PV. Therapeutic strategies include phlebotomy, myelosuppressive agents, and, more recently, interferon-alpha. In addition, appropriate antiplatelet therapy should be administered to prevent life-threatening complications and reducing the viscosity of the blood. Although aspirin is widely preferred in such patients, this monodrug therapy or combined with clopidogrel as an alternative approach might not be enough, especially after coronary artery surgery. Therefore, warfarin should be added to anticoagulant therapy. This short report describes the use of warfarin, associated with aspirin and clopidogrel as an anticoagulant regimen after coronary artery bypass surgery in two cases with polycythemia vera. We believe that a combination of warfarin with other oral antiplatelet agents may be more effective in preventing the coronary artery bypass graft thrombosis.

Coronary artery bypass surgery in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension is extremely rare. Right ventricular failure due to persistent elevation of pulmonary pressure is the most important complication in the postoperative period. Creation of an interatrial septa1 defect and reducing postoperative supraventricular arrhythmia by amiadarone infusion and continuous nasal oxygen therapy can reduce postoperative mortality and morbidity. fJ Card Surg 2002; 17:79-80)

Since improvement in reinforced expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts, true aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm formation have become relatively rare complications after axillofemoral reconstruction. This is a case report of a true aneurysm of an axillofemoral graft. The true aneurysm occurred 29 months after insertion of a reinforced ePTFE graft for aortoiliac occlusive disease. A mid-graft true aneurysm was identified during examinations without any trauma history. Continuous long-term follow-up is recommended for these reinforced ePTFE grafts because of rare aneurysm formation, preferably using duplex ultrasonography.